Echolalia
by TailFear
Summary: A one night stand leaves Naruto on his way to the Sand with a child he's not really sure how to raise. Maybe that second bottle of sake hadn't been the best idea after all.
1. Chapter 01: Homecoming and Bar Hopping

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, and won't for the duration of the story. Besides, after it's said once, I think it should be obvious for the rest of the fic.

Notes: AU, **spoilers**, etc, for the rest of the fic as well.

**Echolalia  
**By: TF 

**Chapter 01: Homecoming and Bar Hopping**

_Echolalia: _n._ an infant's repetition of the sounds made by others, a normal occurrence in childhood development. Also called _echophrasia

Naruto smiled as he and his two teammates dropped down from the thick canopy that surrounded the eastern end of Konoha, landing silently in front of the gate that the chuunin on guard duty was already opening. As they walked between the thick walls and through the gate he smiled, as he always did, at his return home, and at the expressions of relief and happiness on the faces of his two teammates. Even if they were entering the streets during the busiest part of the day he would still smile, despite being jostled and harassed as his teammates walked ahead of him, occasionally wearing looks of annoyance or anger on his behalf.

Today he walked ahead of his team, diving into the crowd in an effort to get through to the Hokage Tower as quickly as he could so that he could reunite himself with his beloved Ramen before the lunch rush began. He didn't even have to say anything, his teammates knew; together they were shaking their heads and rolling their eyes at his antics as they always did when they weren't trying to get him something healthier.

Once at they were at the Tower Kakashi took over, handing over their mission reports and making sure that Tsunade-sama didn't need them for anything before dismissing Naruto and Sakura, telling them to meet him at their usual spot, at their usual time the next day, even though he was most likely going to be an hour late (but that was an improvement from the three hours of their gennin days). With a whoop Naruto left, speeding towards his favorite little Ramen stand, with Sakura vainly trying to keep up and get her wrist out of his strong grip at the same time.

"You know," Sakura said after they had sat down and ordered, "you are a chuunin now, you don't always have to act like you did at the Academy."

Naruto grinned in her direction, barely flashing a hint of longer than average canines, "But Sakura-chan, then who would teach Konohamaru the joys of pulling pranks, especially ones on Closet-Pervert?"

He wasn't even bothering to protest the attack on his innocence, and they both knew that, but it was the game that they played. Sakura would tell him to grow up, and he would reply that he needed to teach his followers the extent of his considerable arsenal of tricks before something unfortunate, like another extended training mission with Ero-sennin, happened to him.

After Sasuke had left they had become closer instead of falling apart. Even when Naruto came back to Konoha after the three-year training mission they had still been close, as if the blond had never left. Sakura's heart had softened towards her teammate when she went to visit him in the hospital after the failed mission to retrieve Sasuke. He had been lying in the hospital bed, looking small and vulnerable and covered in bandages that still didn't restrain his spiky hair. A tentative grin had stretched across his face before disappearing as he saw exactly who was visiting him.

She could remember clearly the almost fearful look that he sent in her direction before he grew sad and serious and told her that he had failed her and hadn't brought Sasuke back with him, even if the bastard wouldn't have made her happy anyway. Sakura could remember how he cringed, as if expecting her to yell at him, instead of the hug that she gave him as she buried her head into his chest and told him that he had done the best that he possibly could have. After an awkward parting they had stayed close, building the bonds that they hadn't when they first started training as a team.

After Naruto had returned from his extended training mission he, Sakura, and Kakashi had been placed into a three-man team, and despite Naruto being a gennin, they had been sent out on missions. The only pause in their new routine was when Naruto had joined an impromptu three-man team for the chuunin exams, which he passed with flying colors. After the exams they had returned to their routine of taking missions and training during the lull, which evolved into their almost post-mission ritual of indulging Naruto's Ramen addiction before heading in their separate ways.

"Naruto, you're seventeen," Sakura rolled her eyes at Naruto's innocent look, "and Konohamaru is thirteen and preparing to enter the chuunin exams. I think that you can let him cause his own trouble."

"Sakura-chan, that hurts," Naruto whined, pouting until his Ramen was placed in front of him.

"Itadakimasu," they chorused together before starting their meal. Sakura ate at a normal pace while Naruto inhaled his first bowl of noodles and started on his second, then third while barely taking a breath.

"One would assume that he would be able to eat like an adult by now."

Sakura greeted the sarcastic voice with a wave of her hand as Shikamaru came up behind her, watching Naruto eat with a disgusted look on his face.

"One would assume, but they would be wrong," she quipped, continuing her meal as Shikamaru took a seat next to her and ordered his own meal.

"It isn't nice to talk about someone as if they aren't sitting right next to you," Naruto complained, rolling his eyes when Sakura and Shikamaru proceeded to ignore him.

"How did the mission go?" Shikamaru asked as he crossed his arms on the table and put his head down, tilting so that he could still watch Sakura while she was talking.

"It went alright. Three was a little much for a small group of bandits, but that just means more money for all of us," Sakura commented, placing her chopsticks on the table before draining the broth from her bowl.

"That's the life of a ninja," Shikamaru replied before sitting up as his meal was placed before him.

"At least the skirmishes between us, Sound, and Mist have calmed down," Sakura said, watching as Naruto ordered his fourth and last bowl of noodles from the smiling girl behind the counter. "I've done enough patrol missions to last me a lifetime."

"It's calm until we're attacked again, then we all get patrol missions for the next month," Naruto said between mouthfuls, joining the conversation between the medic-nin and the lazy jounin.

"There have been rumors of a slew of A and B-ranked missions that are going to be heading our way here in a few days," Shikamaru made an annoyed face as Naruto grinned. "Trust the Hokage to find a way to work us to death during a lull. Bothersome woman."

"Hey, don't talk about Tsunade-baba like that, she does her best," Naruto said.

"You're the one who calls her a gambling, boozing, old hag on almost a daily basis," Sakura said, watching as Naruto became indignant at her accusations.

"She's the one who started it by calling me an idealistic brat!"

"You are an idiot, Naruto," Shikamaru said, draining the last of his broth with a roll of his eyes.

Naruto's yelling was ignored as Shikamaru and Sakura started a discussion over the likely candidates for the upcoming chuunin exams that were going to be held in the Sand. They included him into the conversation as soon as he stopped ranting, then excluded him again when he started on the subject of Konohamaru and his friends and how they were going to beat everyone else without breaking a sweat.

An irritated yell echoed down the street, causing Shikamaru to sit straight up, much to Sakura's amusement. As Ino's blonde head wove through the crowd in search of her wayward teammate, Shikamaru got up, shoved his hands into his pockets, hunched over and left. Naruto and Sakura shared a look as Ino ducked under the hangings separating the noodle stand from the busy street, searching for her lazy teammate before settling for questioning what remained of the former gennin Team 7.

"Have either of you seen Shikamaru? The lazy bum skipped training again, and he wasn't on his usual slacker hill, so I decided to check here," Ino sighed as she looked around the small stand.

"He was just here, then he left and headed that way," Sakura pointed in the opposite direction that Ino had come from, making the blonde frown.

"He was supposed to start checking in on the graduating class at the Academy to see who may be on his gennin team," Ino looked tired as she always did after she'd been chasing after her brunette teammate.

Sakura took pity on the other kunoichi and waved her to the open seat, calling for yet another bowl of Ramen to be brought forward for the blonde. Ino plopped down with a sigh as Naruto rolled his eyes and got up.

"I'm going to leave you two to your bonding," he said with a minute shudder before grinning cheekily at Sakura. "I'm going to stop by your apartment around 7 tonight, so be ready to go."

"Go where?" Sakura asked, turning away from her fellow kunoichi to view her teammate with suspicion.

"To bars, of course," Naruto replied happily.

"We are not going bar hopping," Sakura said, trying to sound firm in the face of Naruto's buoyancy.

"But Sakura-chan, we never have any fun after missions," Naruto's whining stopped as Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Okay, maybe you don't have any fun. Come on, Sakura-chan, just this once?"

"Oh, go on, Forehead-Girl, you need to have some fun in your life, instead of just watching Lee-kun do push-ups," Ino added from the behind the pink-haired girl.

"Fine, fine," Sakura gave in to the combined pressure of both blondes, "but I'm not going to drag you home like Kiba always does, Naruto."

Naruto grinned and left, slipping into the crowd with a flash of bright orange, leaving the two girls to their discussion of annoying teammates.

* * *

Naruto showed up in front Sakura's apartment right at seven, earning a growl from the pink-haired girl as she opened the door and told him to wait a moment before leaving with him. 

"We're going to go to one of the ninja-owned bars closer to Hokage Tower," Naruto said, offering Sakura his arm in an overly exaggerated manner that she rejected.

"Why not go somewhere closer to our apartments?" Sakura asked following Naruto through the crowded streets as they headed closer to the center of the village

"Because in the regular world we're still under age," Naruto said, catching Sakura's hand and dragging her into a brightly lit doorway that led to a dimly lit interior.

Kiba's grin had always been wolfish, even when he was twelve, an effect that was accentuated by the fur lining of his sweatshirt hood and his tawny eyes. At the mention of beer, or alcohol of any kind, his smile spread across his tanned face until he looked like the cat that had eaten the canary and had its mate trapped under a large, clawed paw.

Now, when it came to Naruto and booze Kiba knew that he had two options: to either challenge the blond to a drinking contest and lose, or to just get the blond drunk and deal with taking Naruto back to his apartment after they were good and sloshed. After a good mission Kiba generally chose the latter, and then woke up face down on Naruto's floor with Akamaru's sleeping form draped across his back.

So, when Naruto walked into the bar, dragging Sakura behind him, Kiba knew that he had one choice to make, and that was to get Naruto drunk out of his mind and maybe Sakura as well. Kiba's grin spread across his face as he made the move to intercept the teammates heading to the closest open section of bar.

"Naruto, Sakura, good to see you back from your mission safely," Kiba's voice, normally loud, was pleasant, earning himself a raised eyebrow from Sakura.

"Kiba, man, what have you and your mutt been up to while I was gone?" Naruto asked, seating Sakura between himself and the grinning dog-boy.

"I've been amusing myself pretty well," the smile that graced the tanned boy's face made Naruto smile as well.

"I don't doubt that," Naruto muttered, smiling as he waved to the bartender to get a round of drinks for the three of them.

"Sake for all of us," Kiba said when the bartender came over, ignoring Sakura's protests that she didn't want anything to drink.

"The point of going to bars is to drink alcohol, not to just drink tea," Naruto said, smiling hopefully at his teammate until she finally sighed and gave in, raising her cup along with the boys to drain its contents.

"Is that good enough?" she asked, taking a deep breath after her initial drink.

"Go Sakura! I didn't know that you could drink that way," Naruto's grinning face loomed in her vision, making her squint he was so close to her face.

"She's much better at this than Hinata. Must have been taking drinking lessons from Hokage-sama herself," Kiba said, barely ducking the swing that the medic-nin aimed at his head. "Shit, don't take my head off woman."

"Don't worry, the only things that Sakura learned from Tsunade-baba was how to hit and medical stuff," Naruto quipped, yelping as Sakura's slap hit its mark on the back of his head. "Sakura-chaaan, why are you so mean to me?"

"Because you're an idiot," Sakura said before draining another cup of sake from the flask that had been placed in front of her.

"She's right about that you know," Kiba said, grin growing larger as Naruto started to whine. "You are kinda dumb."

"At least I'm not a flea-bitten mutt," Naruto snapped, then yelped as Kiba knocked him off of his barstool with a well-aimed punch followed by a command to Akamaru that set the young dog to slobbering on the blonde's face.

"You are both sooo mature," Sakura commented, rolling her eyes as Naruto sat up, lifting Akamaru off of his chest and scratching the dog behind his ears before reclaiming his overturned seat.

Naruto grinned as he poured himself more sake, watching Sakura down her third cup. The three of them sat in silence for a few moments, just thinking and taking sips of their drinks, and occasionally greeting other ninja or starting small fights within the group.

"Why do they allow you two to beat on each other?" Sakura asked after watching yet another small scuffle break out between the two boys.

"This is a ninja bar, things like this are accepted as long as nothing is broken and no jutsus are used," Kiba explained after he righted his sweatshirt from where Naruto had nearly choked him with it.

"So you two are allowed to get away with this?"

"Pretty much. We also leave a nice sized tip," Naruto added, steadying himself against the bar.

"Ah," Sakura murmured as she watched her blond teammate down the beginnings of their second bottle of sake. She was feeling a little unsteady, in a pleasant, buzzing way, although it did take more concentration than normal for her to speak clearly.

Over half an hour later all three were sloshed enough that Kiba and Naruto were attempting to sing while Sakura made song suggestions. Together they staggered into the street, happily clinging to each other in an effort to stay upright. At the Inuzuka compound Kiba's sister greeted them, steadying Kiba as she observed the pair wobbling in the street.

"Thanks for bringing Kiba home for once, Naruto," she said, rolling her eyes at the huge, drunken grin that spread across the blonde's face.

"No problem…uh," he trailed off, going a little cross-eyed as he tried to remember her name.

"Go home Naruto, and drop your new drinking buddy off at her home on your way."

Naruto waved goodbye as he helped Sakura stagger away, laughing with her as they nearly toppled over an imaginary pothole. They made it to her apartment without falling over, only running into a couple of walls and the occasional trashcan and couple walking the streets.

"Here's your apartment," Naruto slurred, clutching the railing like a lifesaver as he tried to keep the world from tilting sideways and taking him with it.

"Thanks, Naru-chan," Sakura sighed, draping herself across Naruto's shoulders as she maneuvered him to the door, then used him as a support so that she could unlock her door.

"No problem, Sakura-chan," Naruto smiled as he stumbled with her through the doorway, managing to kick the door shut behind them before toppling over, landing on the hardwood floor with Sakura on top of him. She smiled happily then rolled off, her pink hair cascading over his shoulder as she leaned on his arm.

"Why don't we do this more often, Naru-chan?" Sakura asked, smiling up at Naruto.

"Because you don't drink with me," Naruto whined, sitting up and grinning when Sakura whined and clung to his arm. "Come on, we need to get you to bed Sakura-chan."

"Why are you better off than me?" Sakura slurred, wrapping her arms around Naruto's waist as they stumbled towards the bedroom so that Sakura could go to sleep.

"Because my alcohol tolerance is higher than yours," Naruto said, smiling down at Sakura's pout. She was different when she was drunk, not as serious, not as violent, not as controlled, but then again, that was the effect of alcohol.

"Naru-chan," Sakura's voice was soft, slurred as she pushed open the door to her bedroom before she let go of Naruto and fell forward.

"What, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, smiling as she turned over then sat up and pulled him forward.

Her pull knocked him off balance, sending him toppling onto her, and sending both of them back onto the bed. Naruto pushed himself up onto his forearms, looking down at Sakura before blushing and rolling himself off of her.

"Sorry, Sakura-chan," he murmured, leaning into her shoulder just long enough to catch the cherry scent of her hair before rolling off of the bed.

"Naru-chan, why did you leave?" her soft voice floated down to him.

"Because we're drunk, Sakura-chan, and you're dating Lee," Naruto answered, his voice wistful.

Sakura's head peered over the edge before her hand reached down to help him to his feet. He wobbled a little before catching his balance, and headed towards the door before Sakura's hand on his arm stopped him.

"Sakura-chan-" Naruto protested, but he was once again knocked off balance and toppled on top of Sakura, sending them to the floor.

As they landed Naruto was acutely aware of their position before alcohol impaired senses took over and he kissed her. Somewhere in the back of his head he was telling himself that this was wrong, but then Sakura moved and all protests went out of the window as she pressed her lips even closer to his.

With a gasp he pulled away from her, then rolled off, just lying on the floor for a few moments. He pushed himself up onto one arm so that he could look down at her sprawled on the floor next to him for a moment before getting to his feet and turning towards the door. Sakura got up after him, scrambling to her feet in an effort to catch up with the fleeing blonde.

"Naruto," her voice stopped him, turning him around to face her. She looked into his brilliant blue eyes, and for a moment saw someone else before she reached out to Naruto again. "Sometimes I wish Sasuke was here, and that he hadn't left."

"So do I," Naruto whispered back wistfully, his eyes locked onto hers.

For a moment his figure shimmered, then solidified until a black-haired boy with spinning red eyes turned to face her. The only thing that marred the picture was the six whisker-like markings across the figure's face as he bent down to kiss the green-eyed girl standing in front of him. All he had ever wanted to do was make her happy, and this was the only way he could think of at the moment.

**TBC**

A/N: I know, kind of cliché, but there will be a plot, I promise. Until then, I'm working on chapter 6 of Human Nature. Sorry, yet again, for the wait. Whoops.


	2. Chapter 02: A Rude Awakening

Disclaimer: See last chapter.

AU, Spoilers, etc.

**Echolalia  
**By: TF 

**Chapter 02: A Rude Awakening**

_Echolalia: _n._ an infant's repetition of the sounds made by others, a normal occurrence in childhood development. Also called _echophrasia

Sakura groaned and rolled over as the sunlight that was streaming into her face hit her eyes. She had a headache that was trying to beat its way out of her skull, and her night hand been plagued by weird dreams of Naruto with spinning sharigan eyes and a curse seal on his stomach in the place of his normal spiral seal. With a sigh she buried her face further into her pillow, breathing in the only scent that was on it, hers, and stretching out to cover as much of the double bed as she could.

She sat up with a jerk when her hand hit something warm, solid, and muscled. A gasp escaped her lips as she sat up. Instantly she regretted the quick movement when her vision started to swim, distracting her from whatever was in her bed for a moment. When her head had stopped spinning she remembered why she had sat up so quickly and looked over to see what was in her bed.

Spiky blonde hair was the only visible part of whatever it was that stuck out from under the covers, but it was enough to identify the culprit sleeping in her bed. Naruto snorted, then curled up in a ball when Sakura angrily whipped the covers off of the bed. He did stir when she grabbed onto his ear, painfully dragging him out of the bed and into wakefulness.

"Oww, Sakura-chan. What's your problem?" Naruto groaned, rubbing his eyes and holding his head at the same time.

"What's my problem? Why are you _in my bed_?" Sakura shouted back, covering her own wince at the volume of her voice.

"I don't know! Just stop yelling at me so that we can figure things out," Naruto said, growling a little at Sakura as he screwed his eyes shut with pain.

"This is your fault for taking me to that bar," Sakura hissed, her green eyes narrowing into slits as she clenched her hands into fists.

"You didn't have to drink as much as you did," Naruto groaned, blinking as the pain receded again.

"Don't worry, it won't happen again," Sakura snapped, her hands moving to her temples to try to massage some of the pain away. "And get some pants on, I don't want to see that."

Naruto blinked and looked down before blushing. Sakura found his clothes in a pile near her feet and threw them at him, hitting him in the chest. When he was clothed again Naruto left the room, giving Sakura a little more time to compose and also dress herself.

Sakura was greeted by the smells of breakfast cooking as she left her bedroom, some of her anger dissipating when she reached the kitchen and saw Naruto actually cooking her a real breakfast instead of his usual Ramen.

"I'm sorry for screaming at you," Sakura said as she sat down at the kitchen table, holding her head in her hands as Naruto set down a glass of water and some asprin beside her elbows.

"I deserved it," Naruto replied, his back turned as he continued cooking a breakfast of eggs, bacon, and toast.

"You didn't deserve to be yelled at, Naruto. This wasn't totally your fault, it was partially mine as well," Sakura said, washing down the pills with a gulp of water before supporting her head again in her hands.

"But I got you to go to the bar and drink, so it is my fault," Naruto's voice was the sad voice that he used whenever he knew he failed someone.

Sakura closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Naruto had his back to her because he couldn't deal with facing her and the idea of disappointing her, and she knew this because he had done the same thing after Sasuke had left. After a prolonged moment of silence there were a few small clinks as Naruto set the plates of breakfast down on the table. They started eating in strained silence, Sakura keeping an eye on Naruto as the boy finished off his meal even more rapidly than normal.

"I'm really sorry Sakura, I didn't ever mean for anything like this to happen. I know that you love Lee, and I never, ever, wanted to ruin what you have with him. I'm happy as your teammate, I am. Please don't change teams. Please," Naruto had hunched himself over as much as he could while sitting at the small table as he spoke.

"Naruto," Sakura sighed, placing her utensils on the table and getting up and going around to the other side of the table. "Naruto, this isn't all your fault. I won't change teams, and I'll talk to Lee. I don't hate you Naruto."

She wrapped her arms around his shoulders comfortingly until he relaxed and stopped curling up. Naruto finally looked up at her, then leaned back against her shoulder so that he could watch her face. Sakura closed her eyes and sighed before reopening them and running her hands through Naruto's loose locks.

"Look, I'll clear this up with Lee, even if he probably will want to talk to you," Sakura rolled her eyes at the sheepish grin that was starting to spread across Naruto's face at the subject of the 'conversations' between him and Lee. "And I'm not mad, just a little upset. It was both our faults. I just won't go drinking with you again."

Naruto's grin was still weak, but it was still there when he gave Sakura a tight hug before getting up and clearing the dishes from the table. Sakura sat down again at the table as Naruto started cleaning up from breakfast and just watched the blonde move around the kitchen. He was much more industrious than he let on, especially when he was helping his precious people.

"I want to keep this quiet," Sakura said after a moment of thought. At Naruto's confused look she elaborated before Naruto became his normal loud self, "I don't want the whole village to know that I cheated on Lee, and that it was with you. I know you Naruto, I know that you won't harm anyone intentionally unless you're attacked, but the villagers are still suspicious, and I'd rather not have them blame you for something that was an accident."

"Thanks Sakura," Naruto said with relief, smiling brightly in the pink-haired girl's direction.

"It took both of us to make this mistake, I don't want everyone to be mad at you when they should be mad at the both of us," Sakura said absently.

After Naruto had left Sakura continued to sit at the table, her head cradled in her hands as her thoughts raced through her mind, _How am I going to explain this to Lee?_

* * *

Naruto was running through some basic exercises to warm up when a rising cloud of dust caught his attention. Kakashi also looked up from his warm ups when the cloud of dust hit the edge of the training field and dissipated until only the heavily breathing form of Rock Lee was left. When Lee's finger pointed to Naruto the blonde waved away Kakashi's offer to intervene, standing straight in front of the beating he was most likely going to receive. 

"Uzumaki! You've done a wrong that deserves harsh consequences, and I will be the one to defend Sakura's honor! Fight me, Naruto!" Lee's voice echoed over the field as Kakashi took a seat in a nearby tree.

This silver-haired jounin wasn't exactly sure what was going on, but he knew that for some reason or another Lee had set his mind to fighting Naruto again. Whenever Naruto angered Sakura, or played a prank on her, Lee would show up ready to beat Naruto into the ground for his indiscretion.

Lee charged with a roar as soon as Naruto started to sink into a defensive position, landing an uppercut on Naruto's jaw and sending the blonde boy flying. The blonde managed to flip and land on his feet, but in that same moment Lee was on him again, hitting him with a combo that flipped him up into the air, then sent him into the ground hard enough to leave a small crater. This time Naruto was ready for Lee's attack and caught the other boy off guard when he ducked through the attack and grabbed a hold of Lee's arm, giving him a close enough range to send a low-powered Rasengan into Lee's stomach before letting the other boy go as Lee was sent flying.

Lee crashed into the ground, then stood back up, ignoring the dirt clinging to his bright green uniform. There was a fire in his eyes as he looked across the field at the orange clad blonde before charging back into the fray, landing a few more good moves on Naruto before the blonde boy retaliated. This continued until Lee kicked Naruto into the air again, elevating the blonde boy high enough so that he could get a good hold on Naruto before pile driving the blond into the ground and darting away before he too impacted.

Lee was breathing heavily as he surveyed the pile of dirt and orange cloth that was left after his attack. With a sigh he started brushing himself off, waiting for Naruto to decide to get out of the hole he'd been buried in by Lee's attack. After a while the mound of dirt started to shake, sending small pebbles, then whole clods of dirt tumbling down its sides as Naruto clawed his way free.

"I deserved that, didn't I?" Naruto asked, wincing as a few cuts became apparent on his forearms.

"Yes," Lee was still glaring at Naruto, but the glare softened when he saw the blonde's resigned face.

"Look, Lee, it was an accident, one that won't happen again," Naruto said as he stood up, trying to brush some of the dirt off of his clothes.

"I know," Lee replied, sitting down next to Naruto when the blonde plopped onto the ground. "But that doesn't mean that I can allow you to get away with what you did without repercussions."

"Are you through beating some sense into me?" Naruto asked, smiling when Lee punched him in the arm.

"I think that I need to go find Sakura and assure her that I haven't killed you," Lee said with a wry smile.

"You just rushed out here to maul me, didn't you?" Naruto asked, shaking his head at the thumbs up he got in return.

"You bet! I'm not happy with you, but for now the power of youth has prevailed. Remember this Naruto, and don't let it happen again," Lee's voice was nearly inaudible at the end as he rushed back towards the Hokage Tower before Sakura started a hunt for both him and Naruto.

"What did you do to deserve that?"

Kakashi's drawl brought Naruto's attention to his former teacher as the silver-haired shinobi stood over him. Naruto blinked up at Kakashi as he was helped to his feet, still brushing the dirt from his screamingly orange canvas jacket and pants.

"Eh, I don't want to talk about it," Naruto said, wincing as he tried to get all of the dirt out of his scrapes and cuts as they healed.

"As long this doesn't get in the way of missions," Kakashi said before walking off, his nose buried in his newest Icha Icha Paradise book. Apparently having Jiraiya visiting Konoha frequently was doing wonders for Kakashi's collection of books.

"Don't worry, it won't get in the way," Naruto replied.

He watched Kakashi's back move steadily away and figured that with the beating he had just received, even if it hadn't been too bad and he had deserved it, practice was over, and he could go home and try to train again in the afternoon.

* * *

Sakura sighed as she flopped down into a chair in Tsunade's office, a headache starting to build between her eyes. She wasn't feeling good, and hadn't been for the last week. Her balance had been off, her chakra wrong, her sleep cycle wrong, she'd been hungrier than normal and a host of other small things that were starting to drive her nuts. 

"Sakura, I'm surprised to see you looking under the weather. Have you and Lee been, you know?" Tsunade leered as she leaned forward, shaking her finger at her student as she winked.

"Lee and I haven't been doing _that_," Sakura growled, rolling her eyes at the Hokage's blatant perversion.

"Are you sure? You're looking tired," Tsunade said, still leering at the pink-haired girl sitting in front of her.

"I'm feeling tired, and somewhat…off," Sakura's voice trailed off as she tried to come up with the right word to describe everything that had just been feeling wrong with her body.

"Off how?" Tsunade asked, losing the teasing tone that she had been using earlier.

"I've been sleeping more, eating more. My balance and chakra are a little off, but those may be intertwined. My sense of smell has gotten better, oddly enough," Sakura said, frowning at the last thing that she had said.

Tsunade frowned along with her and ordered Sakura to lie down on the floor. As Sakura stayed still Tsunade ran her hands slowly down the length of her student's body, keeping her palms about an inch from the girl the whole time as she used her chakra to check Sakura's. The blonde woman paused around Sakura's stomach before continuing on, but the pause was long enough for Sakura to become suspicious.

"What's the problem with my stomach?" Sakura asked as she sat up, her hand hovering protectively around her stomach.

"Sakura-chan, there's nothing wrong with your stomach," Tsunade said, smiling gently as her student started to panic a little.

"Then why are you calling me Sakura-chan?" Sakura asked suspiciously, her hand still hovering protectively.

"Because, Sakura, you're going to have a child," Tsunade said, smiling even as Sakura's face went sheet white.

The pink-haired girl allowed herself to be helped back into her chair as she tried to wrap her mind around this new information. Tsunade was still smiling at her in that gentle way that was making her want to puke as she spoke quietly, even though Sakura wasn't even hearing her.

"H-How long?" Sakura asked shakily, looking up with wide emerald eyes. "How old is the fetus? How old is my baby?"

"About three weeks," Tsunade said, noting the way Sakura paled even further. "What happened three weeks ago?"

"Nothing," Sakura said too quickly, blinking a few times before she unsteadily got to her feet. "I have something I need to take care of."

"I'll see you later this afternoon, Sakura, and we can discuss this further," Tsunade said, her eyes watching as her student stumbled out of her office in a daze. "We'll definitely be discussing this further."

Sakura blinked when she found herself looking over the training field that Kakashi and Naruto normally practiced in, not surprised to find Lee's team there as well. Gai and Kakashi occasionally practiced together, leaving Gai's three and Naruto to train together as they chose.

"Sakura-chan!"

Sakura blinked and looked up as Lee and Naruto stopped training and headed in her direction. Naruto hung back, allowing Lee to get there first so that the green-clad boy could sweep his pink-haired girlfriend into a hug. She was still pale when she was returned to the ground, but a little of her color had returned during the hug.

"Sakura-chan, what's wrong? You're pale," Lee asked, stepping back to get a better look at the girl he was holding by the shoulders.

"I'm fine Lee, I just need to talk to you and Naruto alone," Sakura said, smiling weakly as she looked into Lee's eyes.

"What do you need to talk to us about?" Lee asked, his large brows furrowing into a frown.

"I'd rather not talk about it here," Sakura said, her eyes noting the curious Tenten who had moved her and Neji's sparring a little closer so that they could eavesdrop on the conversation.

"Where would you like to talk about it?" Lee asked.

"Come get some ice cream with me, both of you," Sakura said, smiling at both Lee and Naruto. "We'll talk about it there."

"We'll be back in a little bit," Naruto called to the rest of their group as Lee and Sakura started ahead without him. He waved, then jogged to catch up with the two who were rapidly disappearing into the crowded Konoha streets.

"What did you need to talk to us about Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked as he handed ice creams to both Lee and Sakura before starting to eat his own.

"You both know that I haven't been feeling the best lately," Sakura said, taking a deep breath as both boys nodded. "Well, Tsunade did a quick check-up today and found something interesting. I'm three weeks pregnant."

Both Lee's and Naruto's eyes widened before the time frame registered in the blonde's brain and he fainted clean away, toppling backwards, his ice cream rolling away from his lax hand. Lee and Sakura both sweatdropped before pulling their friend back onto the bench.

"You're sure?" Lee asked, taking one of Sakura's hands in his own.

"Positive. Tsunade wouldn't lie about something like this."

Lee thought about it for a moment, then looked over at Naruto's unconscious form, "Then I bow out. Naruto wins. I would like to give the two of you my best wishes."

Sakura's eyebrows shot up at Lee's statement and she was suddenly panicking, "Lee! Lee, don't just leave me like this!"

"But Sakura-chan, I have to. You and Naruto are going to have a child, and I can't stay in the middle of something like that," Lee said, the bangs of his bowl cut almost falling into his face and obscuring his eyes, but not quite.

"Lee, I'm not leaving you. Naruto and I will deal with this, but I'm not going to marry him. We'll deal with this, but that doesn't mean that I want to just end my relationship with you," Sakura said, her voice raising and cracking.

"But Sakura-chan," Lee was trying to protest even as tears streamed down his cheeks.

"No, Lee. I'm not leaving you. I'm not going to leave you just because something unexpected became of an accident," Sakura said, leaning forward so that she could cup Lee's face in her hands. "Believe me, I'm not going to be leaving you."

"Sakura-chan," Lee's eyes watered some more before he burst into even more tears and leaned forward to hug Sakura tightly around the middle so that he could bawl on her.

"Ouch. Why did I wake up to a melodrama?" Naruto asked, rubbing his head as he sat up and saw Lee crying on Sakura.

"You are a part of this. I'm pregnant Naruto, and I'm sure that you've figured out that its yours by now," Sakura whispered, her eyes on a few people who were lingering a little close due to Lee's dramatics.

Naruto's eyes widened and he paled, but he didn't faint again, only swallowed hard before asking, "So what has Lee crying so hard?"

"Lee thought that I would leave him so that we could get married because of this," Sakura whispered, patting Lee's head awkwardly.

"We couldn't, the village would freak, and Lee would beat me senseless along with the help of Neji and Tenten," Naruto whispered back, eyeing the villagers as well.

"We'll have to talk to Tsunade, but I'm sure that there are ways to keep this quiet," Sakura said, still patting Lee's head as he let go of her and sat up to wipe off his face.

"I can take the baby, Sakura-chan. No one would have to know it was yours. I could move to Suna or something, then you'd be free to go about your life with Lee," Naruto said after a moment of staring between the three of them.

"Naruto, we'll deal with this when the time comes," Sakura said, reaching out to pat him awkwardly on the head as well.

"But, Sakura-chan," Naruto protested.

"No buts, Naruto. We'll deal with that when the time comes. I'm not going to abandon Lee, and I'm not going to abandon this child either. We'll talk about Suna when the time comes, but for now, we're doing just fine," Sakura said calmly, looking at the two wide-eyed boys sitting in front of her. "We'll talk to Tsunade about it, and everything will be okay."

**TBC**

A/N: Whoo, another chapter done, this time while on vacation in Florida (it's rained most of the time). The clichè goes on and on. Thanks to those who reviewed the first chapter!


	3. Chapter 03: Coming to Terms

Standard disclaimer, see earlier chapters.

**Echolalia  
**By: TF 

**Chapter 03: Coming to Terms**

After getting over the initial shock of Sakura's news Lee opted to stay out of the meeting with Tsunade, saying that he would hear the final decision after it was decided. He'd left Sakura and Naruto at the Hokage Tower to rejoin his old team for training, giving Sakura a quick kiss on the cheek before running off with his characteristic enthusiasm. Sakura managed a weak smile for her bright green boyfriend before sighing and leading Naruto into the building. Because Sakura was Tsunade's student she was allowed into the building and Tsunade's office at all times, making the task of scheduling an appointment into an easily bypassed stage of entry.

Tsunade looked up from the work she was actually doing when Sakura entered followed by a very pale Naruto. She wasn't surprised, not really, especially after some of Naruto's more creative mishaps while drunk, but she really would have thought that both of them would have used their brains a bit more than they had. Besides, having Sakura tell her it was Naruto and having Naruto showing up looking as if the sky was falling were two different things.

"So, what are we going to do about this?" Tsunade asked once the teens had settled down, watching their faces closely.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked, a frown marring her forehead as she watched her teacher.

"I mean, what are you going to do about having this baby, about Naruto being the father, and about your current living situation? Sakura, I know that your apartment isn't big enough for more than just you, and Naruto's is even smaller. And what about Lee and your parents?" Tsunade leaned forward, resting her chin on one of her hands as she watched her student and adoptive brother think through their situation.

"I'm going to keep the baby, there's no question about that," Sakura said, protectively splaying a hand over her stomach as she stubbornly locked eyes with Tsunade.

"I'm not saying you shouldn't keep it," Tsunade said, rolling her eyes when Sakura gave her a doubtful look. "I'm just saying that you should know what you're facing."

"She's right."

Both women looked at Naruto as he sighed and buried his head in his hands. They waited as he shook his head and scrubbed at his eyes, frustration radiating from his form.

"If the village finds out that I've fathered a kid chaos will break out. They barely tolerate me as it is, especially after Sasuke left," Naruto's voice was thick with disdain that carried clearly, "They'll just be waiting for a chance to abort it, not to mention the chance to see whether or not it'll come out furry."

"They wouldn't do that," Sakura protested, holding her middle even more protectively than before. "They wouldn't abort it just to see whether or not our child will be born with fur."

"Yes the would, Sakura, yes they would. I don't know if you remember how I was treated when we were younger, but I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy," Naruto paused a moment before amending his last statement. "Okay, I would wish it on my worst enemy, but never a child."

"I agree with Naruto," Tsunade watched Sakura as the bubble-gum pink-haired girl shook her head. "The villagers and the council of elders will never just accept this easily, no matter what I do. It would be best if you kept the father, or better yet, the pregnancy as discrete as possible."

"How am I supposed to hide being pregnant?" Sakura snapped, crossing her arms over her chest as she glared at the two blondes.

"I never said you had to hide it, I said that keeping it discrete was the best solution," Tsunade said, rolling her eyes when Sakura glared.

"Again, being pregnant isn't really discrete," Sakura said, watching Tsunade sigh and shake her head.

Naruto just watched the exchange and tried not to appear too amused. Sakura hit hard enough when she was annoyed, an angry, pregnant Sakura was something to be feared.

"There are ways to hide changes in appearance," Tsunade said snidely, watching her student redden with embarrassment. "Besides, it isn't as if we couldn't arrange a mission for you as soon as you as soon as you start to show, even if it is going over important scrolls here for a few months."

"What am I going to say when I suddenly come home with a baby?" Sakura asked, shaking her head at the idea of coming home from a mission with a couple-day-old baby. "Oh, by the way, I found a baby on the side of the road and decided to nurse and keep it."

"I could take the baby and go somewhere else. Most of the village would cheer if that happened anyway, and no one here would have to know," Naruto kept his eyes to the ground as he spoke, his hands fiddling with anything that came within reach.

"Naruto," Sakura's eyes softened and she leaned over to hug the blond.

"I'm not sure that the situation will come to that," Tsunade said, watching the pair as they leaned against each other. "But we'll discuss possible situations later. For now we need to figure out what we're going to do once Sakura starts show."

"The idea of staying here during part of this pregnancy sounds good, but not for the whole thing. I couldn't stand staying cooped up for five or six months," Sakura said, shaking her head at the thought. "But there would have to be coordination between the two, and a reason for me to be looking like a blimp."

"Again, we can discuss that when it comes up as well, but that is a good suggestion," Tsunade watched Sakura beam at the compliment. "There's still the question of your living arrangements."

"Lee and I have been discussing moving in together," Sakura said, looking at Naruto out of the corner of her eye for the blond boy's reaction. "He can help."

"That's a good idea. We also need to figure out your mission status. Going on dangerous missions now isn't a good idea, and soon you'll have to start watching exactly how much you train so that you don't overtax your body. And don't even think about trying that stupid diet that you and your friend Ino seem to be unhealthily fixated on," Tsunade said sternly, glaring when Sakura started to sputter defensively.

"So I'm supposed to do nothing?" Sakura asked snappishly.

"Sakura, you are a fully trained medic-nin. Don't act like you don't know how to take care of yourself while pregnant," Tsunade snapped, suddenly becoming imposing as she leaned over the heavy desk. "I'm not going to put up with any childish crap, especially since you know very well how to deal with this."

Sakura paled and sunk lower into her seat as Tsunade's anger washed over her. Tsunade sighed and flopped ungracefully back into her chair, pulling a bottle of alcohol out of her desk and taking a large drink before putting her head down on her arms.

"Come back later, I'm tired of dealing with this today. I have a meeting in a few minutes anyway," Tsunade said, waving them out the door.

"You can't just push us out you old hag!" Naruto snapped as Tsunade got up and started pushing the two out of her office.

"Naruto, not now. I mean it when I say we'll deal with this later. Just try not to let this spread around the village like every other secret."

Naruto and Sakura were left staring at the closed door as Tsunade slammed it shut, leaving them in the hallway with Shizune as she blinked at their sudden appearance.

"How about we go get something to eat," Naruto suggested, shaking his head as he and Sakura started away from Tsunade's office.

"Why do you always think of eating when something comes up?" Sakura asked, a little angry about being chastised and thrown out by her teacher.

"I dunno," Naruto whined, earning himself a smile from his teammate as she shook her head. "I always eat when something happens, and you do have to start eating for two now."

"I know, I know. It'll be something to get used to," Sakura said, sighing as they exited the building and entered the busy Konoha streets.

"That diet you and Ino keep up is stupid anyway. Being stick thin isn't attractive, and it isn't good for you, especially with the amount of exercise you and Ino get being kunoichi," Naruto said, eyes widening when Sakura raised her fist. "Don't hit me because of something that's true! Ask Shikamaru and Chouji, they agree."

"What do you mean they agree?" Sakura asked curiously, lowering her fist and looking up at Naruto as he stopped cowering.

"Ask them. Stick girls aren't attractive," Naruto said with a shrug. "Something about bones poking out just isn't good."

"So you want your girl to be fat?" Sakura teased, laughing when Naruto blushed bright red and sputtered.

"No! I like them muscular and in shape, not sickly," Naruto said, pouting as Sakura continued to laugh. "This isn't fair."

"It isn't supposed to be fair," Sakura smiled and leaned her head on the blond's muscular arm. "Come on, you can buy me some Ramen."

"Gee, what a privilege," Naruto quipped, smiling when Sakura poked him rather hard in the ribs.

"You're feeding my extra mouth, which you caused," Sakura said, twining her arm around Naruto's as the headed towards Ichiraku. "Besides, you owe me for how many bowls of noodles now?"

"Lots!" Naruto cheered, pumping one fist into the air.

"Damn straight," Sakura said. "Now lets go. Noodles await."

* * *

Ino looked up as the small bell over the door to the flower shop tinkled merrily at the entrance of another customer. She blinked when she saw Sakura enter the store attached to Naruto's arm, leading the whiskered blond around as he rolled his eyes. 

"Oi, Forehead-girl! What brings you here?"

Sakura turned and smiled, dragging Naruto behind her as she wove her way through the maze of color and fragrance to the counter.

"I'm actually here to see you Ino-pig," Sakura said, leaning casually against the counter, still clutching Naruto's arm as the blond sighed.

"Why? What's happened?" Ino asked suspiciously, noting the way Sakura was clutching her teammate's arm like it was a form of comfort.

"Something happened, and I wanted you to know. It's a secret. A real one that can't be spread, so you better keep your big mouth shut, even around your teammates," Sakura warned, ignoring the looks that Naruto was sending in her direction.

"Sakura-chan," Naruto warned, pulling on his smaller teammate until she looked up at him. "Remember what Tsunade said."

"I remember, Naruto. But Ino's my best friend, and if she found out from anyone other than me it would damage our friendship," Sakura explained as Naruto started to look increasingly nervous.

"But if it gets out," Naruto protested. "No offense, Ino, but secrets in a ninja village spread faster than fire during a drought."

"No offense taken. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone if it is that big of a deal," Ino said, leaning forward over the counter. "I won't even tell Shika and Cho."

Naruto sighed when Sakura smiled, "It's that big of a secret, which means you open your mouth to no one."

"Okay, okay, I get it," Ino said, waving a hand for Sakura to hurry up. "Just spill before I die of anticipation."

Sakura leaned forward and whispered into Ino's ear as Naruto winced, waiting for the explosion that was certainly going to happen. Sure enough it took only a few moments of silence for the information to sink in before Ino exploded.

"WHAT! How did this happen?" Ino shrieked, waving her hands wildly in the air.

"Keep it down, Ino-pig," Sakura hissed, clamping her hand over the blond kunoichi's mouth. "What do you want to do, alert the whole village?"

"Sorry, sorry. You just surprised me," Ino snapped once Sakura removed her hand.

"I couldn't tell," Sakura said sarcastically, but stopped when Naruto nudged her in the ribs.

"How's Lee taking this? You aren't dumping Lee are you? Because that would just devastate him," Ino babbled, giving Naruto dirty looks as the all of the implications set in.

"No, I'm not dumping Lee, in fact I'm going to talk to him about moving into his apartment. And before you ask, he and Naruto have already resolved this," Sakura's addition stopped any awkward questions that Ino could ask.

"Wow, just wow," Ino said, taking a step back so that she could look at her friend. "I mean, this is just unexpected."

"I know, I know," Sakura said, shaking her head as she leaned forward. "I'd never really thought about anything like this."

"Um, if you guys are going to get teary can I leave?" Naruto asked as Sakura released him to hug Ino.

"We'll be leaving in a minute," Sakura said, rolling her eyes as Ino shook her head. "Keep your shirt on."

Naruto scowled and wandered away to go look at one of the gaudier flower arrangements, leaving the girls alone at the counter.

"How are you dealing with this? I know that it's going to be tough," Ino watched Naruto as he knocked a vase off of its pedestal, caught it before it hit the ground, and put it back while trying to look as innocent as possible.

"I just found out, but I'm, well, dealing. I don't know how I'm going to hide this in a few months," Sakura said, her face etched with tension as she leaned against the counter.

"Isn't Tsunade going to help you? I mean, she is your teacher, and if it gets out about Naruto, well…" Ino trailed off with a wince.

"I know. That's why you can't tell anyone," Sakura said, watching Naruto as he frowned at an orchid.

"Don't worry, your secret's safe with me," Ino said before leaning over the counter to hug her friend. "I won't tell a soul."

"Thanks, Ino, you're a lifesaver," Sakura breathed a sigh of relief as she returned the hug. "I'm still not too sure about what I'm going to do."

"Don't you worry. If you need anything I'm here."

Sakura smiled and hugged Ino one last time before freeing herself in time to stop Naruto from examining a particularly expensive arrangement and pulling it apart. Ino shook her head as Sakura waved and left, latching herself onto her teammates arm as she guided him out of the shop without any further accidents.

"Sheesh, Forehead-girl. What have you gotten yourself into now?" Ino muttered to herself as she watched Sakura's pink hair disappear into the crowd.

* * *

Sakura sighed as she rolled over again, sleep escaping her as she stared at the white ceiling overhead. Getting her mind to settle down was becoming impossible. Naruto's words about the village elders trying to take her baby away was unnerving, something she hadn't thought of before he'd brought it up. She could easily remember how Naruto had been treated as a child, bullied and ignored by the other children with parents who had had their lives turned upside down by the fox demon sealed in his stomach. 

With a small growl of frustration she rolled over on her side, cradling her flat stomach protectively. It had been hard to come to terms with the fact that she was pregnant, pregnant with Naruto's child no less, but the more time she had to think about it the more she realized that she wasn't going to give her child up for anything.

"Hey baby, this is your mommy. I'm really new to this, and your father can be kind of stupid at times, but he's a good person, and he tries his best all the time. I can't promise you what will happen, but I can promise you that you'll be loved, even if you weren't exactly planned," Sakura whispered in the darkness, one hand gently ghosting over her stomach. "You aren't going to be alone like Naruto. You aren't going to be bullied and alone. I promise."

On the roof Naruto stretched out on his back, listening to Sakura's quiet murmuring in the dark as she spoke to the life building itself in her stomach. She didn't know it, but he'd started hanging around her roof soon after he'd found out about the pregnancy, disappearing before she woke up in the morning. He was more worried than he let on, worried about the baby's development and safety as Sakura started to enter her second trimester. She still wasn't showing yet, but she was starting to soften around the edges as she gained some of the weight she was going to need to carry the baby to term.

Birthrates among ninja were low due to the training kunoichi put themselves through to try to keep up with the shinobi. Due to the stress they put on their bodies carrying babies to full term was hard for most kunoichi. Naruto spent half of his time worrying about the baby's development, and the other half of the time worry about how well Sakura was taking care of herself, even though Lee hovered twice as much as he did and Sakura was going to be moving into the Lee's apartment within the next couple of days. He meant it when he said that he'd leave if it would benefit the baby. There was no way that he'd let his child grow up like he did, not while he was alive and able to bully people into agreeing to take any children he might have if anything happened.

Naruto smiled when he heard Sakura's breathing even out into sleep. She hadn't been sleeping well lately due to stress and wandering thoughts, which made him practically stalk her as she moved around during the day. If she realized how much time he spent watching over her she'd probably freak, but that was why she didn't know.

The blond ninja sighed and looked at the sky stretching overhead, stars winking brightly against the velvet backdrop of night. No matter what happened he was going to be there for this child.

"I promise you baby. I promise you won't have to go through what I did. You'll get everything that I didn't and more with parents who love you."

**TBC…**

A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed, you all really make me want to continue this, even though there may be erratic updates at best. Thanks again!

This chapter goes out to Saria-chan, who reviews almost everything I put up and has nothing but helpful and kind words. You totallyrock!


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